I want to make sure this accomplishment doesn't pass by unnoticed and unappreciated.

As most of you know, a week ago we shut down Democratic Underground for a day and a half in order upgrade our web servers. We had been running the site on the same old web servers for about a decade, and they served us well for a long time, but it was clear that they were nearing the end of their useful lives as we experienced ever more frequent glitches and instances of degraded performance. The limitations of our old servers were most obvious during times of especially high traffic that occur during big news events.

The upgrade was many months in the making, but it seems that we pulled it off just in time. Over the weekend we saw a big news double-whammy, with the DNC server breach and the Democratic presidential primary debate both occurring over a two-day period. Democratic Underground is already significantly busier now than it was a year ago but this past weekend really pushed us over the edge -- in fact, measured by number of posts, Saturday was our single busiest day since general election day in 2012.

In the past, this is the type of thing that would have crippled the site, and we would have been forced to systematically remove functionality from the site in order to deal with the stress on our servers and maintain access for our members. But this past weekend we were prepared for the massive spike in traffic -- the new servers held up beautifully without needing to resort to any emergency measures.

I know that people generally don't notice when an emergency fails to happen, so I wanted to make sure that you all were aware of it. I especially want to express my appreciation for all of the behind-the-scenes work that my fellow DU administrator Elad has put into this server upgrade. It was an enormous task with a huge learning curve and many sleepless nights, and it's not over yet. I am grateful for and extremely impressed by all of his hard work.

And while we're on the topic of things that happen behind the scenes that go unnoticed...

Back in October of 2014 Google changed their search algorithm and over the following three months DU saw a 41% decline in search traffic and a related 38% decline in ad revenue. The good news is that we have spent much of 2015 clawing our way back up, and for the first time in a long time we we have seen both our traffic and our ad revenue gradually increasing over the course of an entire year. (Yay!) The bad news is that we started from a significant deficit, and for the first time ever we will not break even for the year.

That means that 2015 is the first year that Democratic Underground cannot afford to pay a year-end bonus to Elad, who worked so hard on the server upgrade, or to EarlG who works just as hard but on more obvious things like the Pic of the Moment and various forum administration duties.

So I am asking you, in the spirit of the season, to please consider re-upping your DU subscription a little early this year or maybe kicking in a couple extra bucks.

51. Manny and loonix are impartial?

55. Stop being disingenuous. You directed your comment to skinner. Not Manny and loonix.

And you SHOULD know, PPR's are happening in a biased way...
And, if you don't, there are numerous examples of people who've been left untouched, and committed outright violations of the ToS that are not being treated in a consistent fashion. Here's one such example:

116. I'm sorry but no.

"I'm voting Bernie in the general election, no matter what happens in the primary" states his intended actions.

"I'm tired of having my life served up to the highest bidder and you should be, too." states his reasons and suggests others should be tired of having their life served up to the highest bidder as well. He doesn't say anyone should vote for Bernie even if Hillary wins the nomination. It's just not there.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Mon Dec 21, 2015, 02:45 PM, and the Jury voted 2-5 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Cowardly, nasty grave dancing about people who cannot reply, but not a violation of TOS.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Doesn't meet the standard of the alerter's complaint...
Juror #3 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Yeah - in poor taste. Hide it.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This pro-HRC, anti-Bernie post is totally juvenile, but people need to see it so they know who to put on Ignore. I know I'll put this a-word on Ignore.
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: Grave dancing is really inappropriate and in bad taste, but not surprising for this poster.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: can't even beiieve this was alerted on. Shame on the alerter

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

38. YES!!

62. agreed

You can't have it both ways. Expect more support while you erode the quality and breadth of discussion in here by censoring some of its more vocal contributors for petty and suspicious reasons. I was pissed at the TS of other established posters already. I expected they would be invited back after some arbitrary timeout, maybe a week or two. The Manny expulsion is the final straw, if the admins do not find some way to pave a way for him to return.

74. Yes, and it's ironic that Emmanuel Goldstein was tombstoned.

Goldstein is always the subject of the "Two Minutes Hate", a daily program beginning at 11:00 a.m. at which an image of Goldstein is shown on the telescreen and subjected to extreme contempt.
...
Goldstein serves as a convenient scapegoat for the totalitarian regime in Nineteen Eighty-Four, and justifies its surveillance and elimination of civil liberties.
...

84. Indeed, ironic in the extreme.

Good link for those whose memories of Orwell are fuzzy or nonexistent.

Manny liked to stir things up, for sure, but isn't that the point of a discussion board?

My own adopted role here is hew closely and strictly to civil liberties, while also supporting progressive candidates and causes (and/or calling them out when they start stepping upon civil liberties). That generates a few minutes of hate toward me now and then, but I welcome the debate.

Like I said downthread, I value this corner of the web, and appreciate the people who have made it happen.

164. Only Bernie supporters thought Manny was cute.

The rest of us got very tired of his baiting, non-stop passive-aggressive badgering. And he did indeed violate the TOS when he stated that he would vote for Bernie "no matter who won the primary." That's not shaking things up, it is aiding and abetting the Republican Party.

177. Name calling? where's your sense of humor. I played off one of your tag lines.

"Fresh stinking" You know, like Rodin's great sculpture, The Stinker? You attack me and then get upset over a little joke. Sounds like there might a a little chip on your shoulder. Actually, you were speaking for everyone on DU if you read your former post. Hubris a little? I was speaking for the non-Bernie supporters. find me one who disagrees with my post and I'll delete it. Have a nice day!

78. !!!

79. You beat me to it. And I'll add:

Fix the TOS: Absolutely no bannings during primary season for saying you won't vote for one of the other candidates if they are nominated." After we have a nominee, then it's perfectly fine to ban someone at that point, if they then state they are voting for someone other than our nominee.

To show how ridiculous enforcing such a TOS as currently exists at DU is, just imagine if this were 'RU' (Republican Underground) with the same TOS in place. With 17 candidates in the running, and the candidates being who they are, I am positive that, prior to the GOP nomination, every single RU member would be saying they absolutely won't vote for at least several of the 17 candidates, and they would mean it. RU would be a ghost town and bankrupt within a month if that TOS was in force there.

First of all, we have an obligation to get the best Democratic presidential candidate into office. For the majority of Dems, that often means using the power of persuasion, (real speech as opposed to money) to present our case for who that is, right up to the second before we have our nominee. Including strongly held beliefs. Just like IRL, punishment should follow the deed, not the belief, or the stating of such belief.

Secondly, that TOS is being unevenly enforced against Sanders' supporters, and noticibly so. It is so blatant, that the OP of a grave-dancing thread about Manny being banned for violating that TOS (pre-nominee) had himself stated in a couple of his prior postings that he will never vote for Sanders should he become the nominee! Yes, THAT blatant.

Thirdly, the owners of DU are hardcore Clinton supporters. (Supposedly, a member of the owner's family was in the very top echelons of Clinton's campaign.) According to the owners, though, 89% of DUers are Sanders supporters. The owners' financial livlihood, and therefore their means of supporting Clinton, financially and otherwise is, at least partially, dependent on us Sanders supporters and the ad revenue and membership fees we generate for them. The optics of selectively banning top level Sanders's supporters (the old tactic of kill off the leaders to cripple and cower the multitudes in their army) for a TOS that is now being enforced before we have a nominee and selectively enforced at that, is, to put it mildly, atrocious.

Fourthly, yesterday, on several threads, I was advocating for the owners of DU to start a "Progressive Underground" forum site for us FDR progressives. Within hours, I was provided with links to a brand new, wonderful site, JackpineRadicals.org, started by others, that was built specifically to give us progressives a welcoming forum to network on. A good portion of my political postings probably will be there going forward.

And lastly, dear jury, if you have read this to the end, I am aware that this post is in violation of TOS. I have been here 10 years without a hide. This is a measured post that speaks to the unfairness, unequal protections and selective enforcment of this site's TOS. We often can not change the things that oppress us, unless we violate the very rules, laws or, in this case, TOSes that are used to enforce oppression. This site is a grain of sand on the scale of things that are important enough to take a stand on. I am taking a stand never-the-less. While I am prepared for a hide, I am asking that you support my stand with a jury nullification.

89. See what you did there.

127. Why is your post in violation of TOS? You didn't do what Manny did.

You're discussing a possible change to the TOS, and that's how you've framed it. Yes, it is meta, but it's not a thread starting post, and it's not disruptive. So I'm puzzled why you think it's HIDE-worthy.

FWIW, I don;'t agree with a damn word you've said, but you phrased it reasonably respectfully, you didn't troll, chain jerk, mock or insult anyone, and you have a right to your opinion.

Your swipe at the owners was a bit unkind, but I've seen much worse stand the test of a jury. If you got one of those "majority rules" juries you'd happily survive if anyone wanted to knock your post down. I wouldn't vote to hide it--if I served on a jury and it survived, I'd come and tell you I thought you were being unnecessarily rude to the site owners--you are a guest in their home, in essence. This is a PRIVATE website, it's not the public square, and it does have a TOS. When you go to someone's house (even bearing gifts of food for the pot luck) and they ask you to take off your shoes to spare their fine floors and white carpets, you don't walk in with dogshit on your boots, wipe them on the new rugs, and tell your hosts to go to hell, after all.

They set this place up for those of us who LIKE being Democrats. If you don't LIKE being a Democrat, it's wonderful that you have somewhere else to go and enjoy protesting your lot in life. No one cares if that's what you want to do.

And if this site is just a "grain of sand," well, it's amazing how irritating a grain of sand can be if it gets into an eye or some other tiny crevice--your essay does reflect that, you know.

198. So let trolls use DU to poison potential voters into not voting all the way through next

summer--or until the nominee is selected? How convenient. It's not my site, but if it was, the answer would be hell f*cking no! You have every right to convince people to throw away their votes, just do it elsewhere.

16. I kicked in for Marta and I

18. I'll certainly try

although this year is very tight for medical and financial reasons, but DU is one of my (diminishing) few boats of sanity. Later this week I'll have the opportunity to squeeze something out. And I will. It's important for all involved. And I'm not just talking about the site, but all it represents and engenders.

I know you're giving main credit to eLad - and deservingly so - but I also know from being in the industry that there are others that have to be involved and we should at least credit them. Thanks everybody!

19. WELL-DONE, all around!

Not just to Elad (although, dayum, dude! Did you evah think, in 2001 when posting those initial posts, that you'd be replacing DU servers in 2015? You go!) but to you, Dave, and to EarlG, for choosing the "invest in the quality of the user experience" route rather than the "lower user expectations" route.

That is not always an easy choice to make.

Particularly now, in the heat of the primary season, when, to be honest, it's not exactly fun to have to duck the shrapnel from the Scorched Earth brigades of the various factions, it's easy to lose sight of what DU really is, and has been, for so long.

A coupla guys who looked at the chicanery and sleaze of Decision 2000, assessed the capabilities of the Appointed One, looked into the implications for the future, and said "We need a place to talk on the Interwebz."

And then made that place.

And kept it alive, vital, full of provoking thoughts, interesting conflict, community support, and all the other good stuff through three general elections and going into a fourth.

And made it into a way to support your young families, work Elad into the scheme, and walk the line between "community service" and "paying enterprise" in a surprisingly durable way.

I never forget, you invited us in, that cold day in 2001.

And you've been good hosts ever since, to an amazing, wonderful, rowdy, verbose, intelligent, diverse crowd of guests.

Take a bow, alla ya.

appreciatively,
Bright

(P.S. Elad, yer "Christmas bonus" from me is on the way. Wish it could be more.)

27. Despite my snark upthread, I agree with every word, TygrBright.

This place is an important corner of the web, and the three guys who make it happen deserve thanks (and some snark too). I just hope that it can stay a true and at least somewhat democratic Democratic discussion forum, never degenerating into a mere echo-chamber.

35. And I agree with you, too.

We do need to reinstate some of the good folks who've allowed their passion and frustration to push them past what the community standards for "lively discussion" can handle right now.

I think it'll happen, once the trajectory for the primaries is a little further along.

Looking back over many, many contentious times here on DU, I think there's little risk it'll ever be an echo chamber. But staying alert to the possibility, and regarding the user community's evolution in terms of the "sweet spot" of staying Democratic with a big "D" while enabling democratic with a small "d" differences, is important.

143. I've always said we can disagree without being disagreeable.

Then why would you say something like this?

They set this place up for those of us who LIKE being Democrats. If you don't LIKE being a Democrat, it's wonderful that you have somewhere else to go and enjoy protesting your lot in life. No one cares if that's what you want to do.

The Democratic party should be a big tent, and it should not be limited to blue dog dems. That is what you are advocating...that anyone who is more progressive than you should not be in the Dem party...they are not welcome because they don't like the long trend of the Democratic party slanting to the right.

If the US started passing laws you thought were wrong, would you suggest leaving it, or would you fight to bring it back to the kind of country you want it to be?

158. Thanks. Puzzling, innit? Lost me, too.

157. Yeah, I think you're just looking for a reason to insult. I didn't say no one else had earned a

right to post here. I said only that MannyGoldstein had earned a right to post here. However, if you want to know if I think that posters who do little to nothing but insult troll other posters daily earned their right to post here to the extent Manny did, no I don't. If you find that "snobby," I have no idea what to tell you.

166. Recced by the Bernista mob. What an honor! nt

191. Yes, two and three hundred recs on some posts. No clue how you understood the issue to be "honor,"

although he probably could not help being flattered sometimes. The claim was that he made a contribution to this board, and, IMO, a much more valuable contribution than posters who post one- or two- line, substance-free snark.

145. Agreed

I Will never contribute $ as long as the admins continue to act inappropriately. Lets not forget what this is - it is a business, plain and simple. Us minor contributors (me) and major contributors (Manny) who freely give away content deserve better treatment.

40. Done.

And that is surprising to learn about the increased traffic volume over the weekend... I sure didn't notice any slowdown or hiccups. Thanks to the entire staff for the server maintenance, the road trips, and the great political cartoons that have really nailed it!

[font size="1"](Now if we could just work on that jury system. )[/font]

41. Okay but I would have appreciated a holiday picture of Grovelbot...

42. I'll do it

I like serving on MIRT if nothing else. As much as I complain, and as uncomfortable as I can get here, it's a habit I do not seem to want to break. I have to wait until after Christmas though. I haven't read this thread, I hope it stays civil for you.

48. Sure will!

49. I would donate if I thought my money would benefit ALL Democratic candidates...

You do understand, Skinnner, that the large volume of traffic at your site is composed of a majority of Bernie Sanders supporters, right? And some of us really don't appreciate your blind support of a candidate who represents the old corrupt values.

I guess I'll go back to lurking now. I'll take the tombstone with pride!

96. It's in the mail, Skinner.

97. I'm a paypal kind of guy

and I noticed that my bank was charging me 12 bucks a month for that account so I closed it out and haven't gone to paypal and changed my account numbers yet so it may be a few days before I do but rest assured I'll send in some beanies when I get that done.

Although I get upset sometimes with some of the stuff that is allowed here I still don't want this place to go away and I do appreciate all you three do for us, day in and day out. Thanks

happy holidays
peace

In the years that I've been using paypal I've yet to have a complaint with them so I figure I could close out the account that I had just for paypal and start using the one I use to squirrel away a little cash for hard times in. My VA check actually

133. C'mon, man!

While I want Bernie to drive this bus, we cannot let these Republican thugs to push a theocracy in our face. And, they will. I will do all I can do get Bernie the nomination but, I will not allow any Republican to win because I didn't vote.

162. K&R n/t

168. Kudos on the smooth upgrade...

...and DU really has been a haven over the years.

Unfortunately, lately the owners of the site have let their own political biases spill over into their decisions on who gets banned and who does not. Others on this thread have posted examples of a poster who violated the same TOS that got Manny banned, with not even a slap on the wrist, much less a ban.

I have really appreciated DU over the years. Lately, not so much.

It's great the site is running faster. As your traffic drops off, it should run even faster! Yay!

180. Hey, Team! Thanks for all you do to keep DU up and running and meaningful

Just did my part for the cause, and look forward to continued information, updated news, a variety of perspectives, and of course that entertainment value. I raise a glass to those honest brokers of the truth who help keep me sane!